The Key To Weight Loss Success? Being Accountable…

Posted By Paul on Apr 8, 2008 | 2 comments

Tom Venuto discussed its importance in his publication, “The Fifth Element.” Commercial dieting programs like “Weight Watchers” recognize and captilize upon it.

What is this elusive “it?”

Accountability.

Put plainly, when we human beings have to answer for our actions to other human beings, we tend to get a little more motivated.

Why?

Often, it’s as simple a pure ego. Most of us are a little more willing to push a harder when there’s someone watching or monitoring our results. That’s even more likely if we’re participating in a group of some sort — when we’re scrutinized by our companions as well as our instructors. Do you want to fail in front of everyone else? Do you want to be the first to quit?

I didn’t think so.

Sometimes, we develop relationships with the people to whom we’re accountable — like our personal trainers for instance —  and we don’t want to let them down by failing to reach some goal or another. Failure is less of an option because not only are we failing ourselves, more importantly, we’re failing them. Ergo, we try harder.

 Pretty straight forward, common sense stuff, right?

Seems like a sensible strategy then, to adopt a program of some sort that involves accountability. This could be as simple as working with a trainer at your local gym, or joining a suitable support group or commercial program.  

But what if you don’t have access to either a commercial program that encourages accountability, or a personal trainer? Yes… there still are ways to be accountable.

The most effective way I’ve found is to keep both a food and workout diary. This doesn’t need to be anything special — a simple notepad of lined paper will do. And there are no rules either, save one…

You must write down everything you eat, and every minute of exercise must be documented. If you miss a planned exercise session, you must write that down too — along with the reason for doing so. If you cheat on your diet… you must write down how you cheated, what you ate, and why you ate it. Each day, you must briefly review the previous day’s progress. Every week, you should do a quick overview of the previous week, and summarize your progress in a sentence or two.

By doing this, you are being accountable for actions… if only to yourself. It’s one thing to cheat on your diet, skip your exercise session, and then shovel it into the nether-regions of your brain to be forgotten forever. It’s a completely different thing to have to revisit your failures — and your excuses for them — on a regular basis. The innocuous notepad becomes a watchful guardian… there to help you attain your goals!

Accountability.

Add it into your program… and reap the benefits!